The present invention is a novel and non-obvious combination of two commercially available products known in prior art, a Residential Elevator and an Automatic Pet Door.
Residential Elevators are well known in the prior art and operate similar to commercial elevators with the exception of door/gate. A commercial elevator has automatic side sliding door at each level, and an automatic side-sliding gate on the cab. A residential elevator has swing doors at each level and a collapsing accordion gate on the cab. Upgrades are available for residential elevators to provide automatic opening of the swing doors and the accordion gate. The opening of the door and gate is initiated by pressing the hall call button or pressing a button on a remote control. The user enters the cab and press a button on the wall indicating the floor they wish to travel to.
Automatic Pet Doors are also known in the prior art and look like a typical pet door, but have a high tech upgrade. The pet wears a collar with a transmitter. The door has a receiver in it that senses when the pet approaches. As the pet approaches the door, the door is opened automatically by a motorized mechanism within the door assembly.
Several devices combining automatic doors, detection means, and other residential appliances, furniture, and equipment are known and taught in the prior art. One example is U.S. patent application Ser. No. 20020158764 entitled “Pet cage assembly having smoke activated escape feature” published on Oct. 31, 2002 to Conway which teaches a system and method for freeing a pet from a portable holding cage. A portable holding cage is provided with a door that can be locked in a closed position by an electromechanical locking mechanism. The operation of the electromechanical locking mechanism is controlled by a systems controller. The systems controller monitors alarm signals transmitted to it from a remote smoke detector. The transmitted alarm signals can be audible alarm signals, radio alarm signals or optical alarm signals. Once the alarm signal is received and identified by the systems controller, the systems controller activates the electromechanical locking mechanism and opens the door to the holding cage.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 20050274463 entitled “Pet door and method of operation” published on Dec. 15, 2005 to Becker teaches a pet door system including a door, a detection device, a receiver, a motor and a controller. The detection device detects the proximate presence of a pet to the door. The receiver receives an identification signal that establishes an identity of the pet. The motor is operatively connected to the door. The controller is communicatively coupled to the detection device, to the receiver and to the motor. The controller issues a signal to the motor to open the door based upon the identity of the pet.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 20050252622 entitled “Automatic pet door” published on Nov. 17, 2005 to Reid teaches a pet door comprising a flap defining a pet access opening, a door flap pivotally mounted in the opening about a pivot axis located at an upper edge of the door flap, a latch mechanism to bar the door flap from opening in at least one direction, and a control mechanism for disabling the latch mechanism to permit the door flap to open in the said at least one direction, the control mechanism including an infrared radiation detector which is mounted above a lower edge of the pet access opening and defines a downwardly directed receiving zone for infrared radiation.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 20050198901 entitled “Automatic pet door” published on Sep. 15, 2005 to Solowiej teaches an automatic pet door system that has a rectangular frame mounted between studs of a wall defining a passage for entry and exit of a pet. A door slidably moves within the frame between a lower closed position for closing the passage and an upper open position for opening the passage.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,966,147 entitled “Automatic pet door” issued to Powell, et al on Nov. 22, 2005 teaches an automatic pet door system that has a rectangular frame mounted between studs of a wall defining a passage for entry and exit of a pet. A door slidably moves within the frame between a lower closed position for closing the passage and an upper open position for opening the passage.
U.S. Patent Application 20050161000 entitled “Window mounted pet door” published on Jul. 28, 2005 to Noyes teaches a window mounted pet door device. The device is intended to solve problems inherent in the prior art by providing for installation and use of the device in a window, including upper floor windows, without significantly modifying the window unit, thereby increasing the availability of suitable installation locations and appealing to pet owners who do not wish to structurally modify their homes. It also provides a pet access platform component to give a pet a convenient structure for approaching the device when it is installed above ground or floor level. The device may include an automatic door access component and a pet-specific identification component whereby only authorized animals are permitted to access the pet door.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,710,714 entitled “Pet cage assembly having smoke activated escape feature” issued to Conway on Mar. 23, 2004 teaches a system and method for freeing a pet from a portable holding cage. A portable holding cage is provided with a door that can be locked in a closed position by an electromechanical locking mechanism. The operation of the electromechanical locking mechanism is controlled by a systems controller. The systems controller monitors alarm signals transmitted to it from a remote smoke detector. The transmitted alarm signals can be audible alarm signals, radio alarm signals or optical alarm signals. Once the alarm signal is received and identified by the systems controller, the systems controller activates the electromechanical locking mechanism and opens the door to the holding cage.
U.S. Patent Application 20030204996 entitled “Remotely controlled pet door” published on Nov. 6, 2003 to Gillett teaches a pet door unit for mounting in a structure, is described. The unit includes a housing, an opening mechanism, a door, a receiver and a transmitter. The door is mounted parallel to the rear wall of the housing in guide rails extending along the sidewalls of the housing. The opening mechanism includes a motor having a screw drive and a carriage that is movably mounted on the screw drive. The carriage is connected to the top of the pet door and moves along the length of the screw shaft as the shaft rotates to open and close the door. To open the door, a user presses a button on the portable transmitter that sends a signal to the receiver. When the receiver receives the signal, it activates the opening mechanism that activates the motor to rotate the screw drive to move the carriage and the door up the shaft to the open position.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,095,852 entitled “Elevator/staircase toy for small animals” issued to Hoover on Mar. 17, 1992 teaches an elevator/staircase toy for small animals (hamsters, gerbils, mice, or other small animals) housed in a transparent containment structure and comprising, first, a plurality of vertical walls radiating from a central vertical axis with a rotational sequence of horizontal plates disposed between them and offset vertically in an incremental and progressive manner, with a plurality of apertures disposed in the vertical walls in corresponding relation to the plates, optionally including one-way passage means on the apertures, and providing maximum floor space due to plate offsets and vertical apertures, secure, segmented living space which easily accommodates bedding, mazelike complexity in a compact structure offering directly viewable compartments and positive routing from a first horizontal plate to a designated last horizontal plate accessing an elevator, and second, an animal-operated and automatically resetting elevator embodied in a pair of counterbalanced elevator cars connected by cable suspended over guide pulleys and possessing cushioning means and animal-controlled or weight-sensitive retaining means. There are numerous safety features and food can be dropped directly into each elevator car for motivation. A bell is optional. Elevators lift out with a lid and the staircase disassembles with interlocking surfaces.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,952,926 entitled “Pet doorbell apparatus” issued to Hoover on Sep. 14, 1999 teaches a pet doorbell apparatus for providing a doorbell system for pets to use to notify home occupants of their desire to enter or exit the house. The inventive device includes cover cap activator attached to the outside or inside of a home. The cover cap activator includes a base plate and an enclosing cover pivotally mounted to the base plate. The enclosing cover is movable from a first position to a second position when the enclosing cover is depressed by a pet desiring to enter a home. When the enclosing cover is depressed, a transmitter mounted to the base plate is activated by an activator extending from the enclosing cover. The transmitter sends a signal to a receiver so that speaker included in the receiver produces a sound to alert a person within the home to let the pet inside.
One shortcoming of the devices known in the prior art is that no combination of an automatic pet door and elevator has been taught to assist those living in homes with elevators or apartments to have a system that allows for a pet to exit the building and return on its own.
Another shortcoming is that the devices known in the prior art are the lack of a logic controller to provide identification means and wireless control of the animal pet door and a residential elevator.